Like Liquid Rouge
by Trickle
Summary: [SasuSaku][AU] “What are you doing, Karin?” Sakura said, raising an elegant brow. “Is that, like, your supposed bedroom eyes or something?”
1. Start

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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**Like Liquid Rogue**

_One._

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Uchiha Sasuke was the kind of guy you look at and while you're looking at him you know he's thinking, "That girl can't take her eyes off me because I'm so hot." He had the alpha male card in the back pocket of his slacks at all times, ready to shove it in your face whenever necessary. At thirteen, he was a prick pissed off at the world; at seventeen, he was the kind of guy that made head turns and girls swoon.

And swoon they did. Poor guy, being attacked constantly by truckloads of females. Really, it wasn't his fault he was so pretty.

Haruno Sakura rolled her eyes in that dainty way of hers and picked a lint from the front of her black dress, blatantly ignoring Sasuke and the female parasite of the night. Really, she was almost tempted to stop attending parties simply because of annoyances like these.

Jealous, much?

She picked up the glass on her table and tipped it back, feeling the bad wine scorching sourly down her throat. Her lips left a sticky layer of gloss over the side of the glass. She stared at it.

"Sakura-chan, you okay?" Uzumaki Naruto asked, his adorable blue eyes shining from an hour's worth of dancing. His blonde hair was windswept, it stuck out at odd ends. You could sort of tell he was sweating a lot under that cute cashmere.

There was only so long a girl could stare at an empty glass without looking like a total retard. Her eyes slid to meet his lazily. "I'm fine," she drawled, her eyes not really focusing.

Her head hurt. She wanted to go to the toilet and stick her finger down her throat and puke all that sour wine out.

The parasite stood up suddenly, shaking her curly brown hair back, laughing. Sakura stood up at the same time, her pink hair narrowly missing Naruto's face as he was leaning in so close. The two girls looked at each other warily, Sakura having to look down at her since she was so short. Sakura was the slimmer, taller, and more poised of the two, while parasite was the shorter, fatter one.

Parasite had huge boobs though. They nearly exploded out of her dress from standing up. Maybe that was the type of girl Sasuke liked?

The strap of Sakura's dress was slipping. The little string slid a little every time she moved. Sakura either didn't know or didn't care, and most likely it was both.

There was a hot dog stand outside, she noticed. Suddenly she knew what she wanted. A steaming hot dog, with layers upon layers of mayo and mustard on top, and bits of chopped onion sprinkled over it all. She would eat it in three bites and burp in Sasuke's face, and then stick her finger down her throat in the toilet and puke the whole greasy thing out. It was only fair, really. If he could waste his time with a girl every time the three of them went out, then she could eat a stupid hot dog.

Her phone buzzed, the vibrations making her cute little purse quiver and shake. Her attention snapped back to her bag and she sat down on the chair, crossing her legs as bitchily as possible.

"Haruno speaking," she gritted out as politely as she could. Sakura was always somewhat semi-polite no matter how bad the mood. Etiquette was something stamped into every part of her brain since day 1, courtesy of her father's strict instructions. She even had a tutor on manners—class was every Sunday.

Not that her dad was there to review any of her progress, though.

He was just too busy.

* * *

Naruto cringed a little at the scary expression on Sakura's face as she answered the phone. Her eyes were narrowed—she was practically baring her fangs. She must have really hated the person on the other line.

_Gee, you think?_

After a few minutes, Sakura slammed her phone shut and tossed the thing into her purse. It was an expensive monogrammed LV one that actually belonged to her mother, but since said mother was hardly home anyway, she didn't see why she couldn't help herself to the stash.

"I'm leaving," she announced, throwing her hair back in a way that you might try to imitate when you're alone in your house, bored out of your mind, just to impress your crush. "Sai just got back from London. I'm going to pick him up."

Sai was part of their little clique, though he joined in a little late. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had known each other since they were babies, while Sai only moved into town at, what? Third grade? His parents and their parents were old university buddies, so Sai and them had somehow became friends after meeting in dozens of dinner parties. Well, sort of. They were still kind of in that whole love-hate friendship stage thing. Go figure.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, his Uchiha senses tingling. "Sai?"

It was the fifth sentence he spoke to her tonight. Not that she was counting, of course.

Yeah, _right_.

Sasuke disliked Sai. He was studying at a boarding school near East Side during the month Sai had moved in, and when he knew Sai was _somewhat_ hanging out with them, he got this impression that Sai was his replacement. After 6 months, he moved back in to his gorgeous apartment in Upper East Side and filed a transfer to Billings—the exclusive private school they all studied at.

In a way, Naruto and Sakura were both glad Sai had moved in and indirectly made Sasuke move into Upper East. They had both missed him and his Uchiha bitchiness.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at Sasuke, sucking on her inner cheek. She decided to be bitchy since he had been bitchy to her all night.

"_Yes_," She purred, sighing dreamily, using the tone of voice every girl had but never really dared use. "_Sai._"

The sentence sent the two boys reeling, a shiver of something trickling up their spine, making their bones shiver in desire.

"We're going with you," Naruto demanded, over-protective.

"Who's we?" Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Sasuke has that Mitsu girl to screw, remember?"

Sasuke frowned. He didn't remember a Mitsu girl.

"Mitsu _who_?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. Typical. "That browned hair girl, Sasuke. The brunette who's been trying to get into your pants all night, like, duh?" She flicked a little chip of red from her fingers and made a mental note to get a new manicure. "Jesus, Sasuke. You're such a fucking asshole sometimes."

Sasuke and Naruto shared a look.

It was one of those rare moments in which Sakura was left out of their circle. She hated both of their understanding eyes as they exchanged glances. It made her insecure. It made her feel like they knew her inside out and it made her feel so _transparent_. It was similar to how she felt when somebody cooed an impossibly annoying "I _told_ you _sooo_," except much, much worse.

A heartbeat passed.

Naruto grinned suddenly, hoisting her up on her feet, practically lifting her off the ground. He threw her vintage coat around her shoulders and practically tackled her, nuzzling her cheek with his.

"Sakura-chaaaaan," Naruto cooed, "You're so cute when you're possessive!"

Sasuke reached up casually and plucked the box of cigarette out of the breast pocket of her coat, his fingers brushing lightly against her skin on it's way up. It send tiny tremors up and down her spine.

He picked a Marlboro out of the box and propped it in between his lips, casually lighting it with his favorite stainless steel lighter. "Uchiha", it read, the surname engraved on the lighter in beautiful calligraphy. It was both badass and impossibly classy at the same time.

Well, Uchihas were badass and impossibly classy all the time, anyway.

"Hn," he grunted, loosening his tie in a way that was just too sexy. "Let's go."

* * *

Sai raised a single elegant eyebrow at the other two occupants of the BMW. He didn't expect the other two when he called Sakura for the pick-me-up.

Naruto glared at him from his front passenger seat.

"Well? You getting in, or not?"

He shrugged and climbed in, sitting down next to Sakura. She looked like somebody ran over her favorite cat or something, glaring straight out of the window in front and refusing to make any form of eye contact with any of the other occupants. It was probably that time of the month again.

He checked his expensive Patek Philippe watch---which, by the way, was a _very_ generous gift to him from his father's business client--- and nodded. Yes, it _was_ that time of the month again!

_Ooh. _Wonder how _he_ came across that tidbit of information!

Sakura bit her lip and refrained from commenting. The two dark-haired males next to her had their legs so wide open that there was precious little space for her butt to sit on. Damn it, she should have taken the window seat when she had the chance. She opened her mouth to point out her precious lack of space, but promptly snapped it shut again. She was being a total bitch, and her insides writhed with guilt for being so mean to her boys the whole night.

She rubbed her face and pressed her fists against her eyes. What the _fuck_ was wrong with her tonight?

Sighing, she dropped her hands back to her sides and stared out the window at the neon lights and passing cars. The view was sort of colorful and pretty—like the kind you see in postcards and movies. She hugged her coat a little tighter around her, suddenly feeling giddy. If only she had brought her camera along. The scenery would've been a perfect shot.

* * *

Naruto frowned from the front seat, surveying the scene from the back mirror. Was Sakura staring at Sai and smiling like some love-struck hippy? Ew. Just, ew. No way did she have a crush on Sai. Right? Right??

He grimaced. Stupid Sasuke, sitting there and doing nothing at all. The idiot—didn't he know that it was both their priorities as friends to make sure she didn't fall for an ass like Sai? Sasuke was seriously akin to a log sometimes. How girls fell for him was a mystery as great as the Seven Wonders of the World.

Seriously. What the _hell_ was so special about Sasuke? Sure, he had the looks going for him, but that was it. Girls couldn't be that shallow, could they?

"Miss Sakura," Sakura's driver called out, jostling all four of them out of their separate worlds. "Do you wish to return to the party?"

Sakura tilted her head a little. Did she?

"I don't know. What about you guys?"

"I don't know," Naruto yawned, stretching his hands overhead.

"Hn," Came Sasuke's all time favorite reply.

"Whatever," Came Sai's.

Well, aren't they just precious little _lovable_ creatures that just make your heart want to commit suicide?

Sakura twitched. Tonight was possibly one of the worst Team 7 reunions, ever. And worst—none of them seemed to _mind_ that it was one of the worst. She knew their friendship was getting loose these days, but she didn't know it was _this_ loose.

"Fine," She hissed, frustrated. "Just—fine. Send us home, please."

Nobody noticed her tone of voice. Nobody noticed her watery eyes.

"Hey. What time is it, anyway?" Naruto asked, turning around in his seat to look at the trio behind.

Nobody answered him.

Sakura closed her eyes. So what if they really were drifting apart? Life did not revolve around them. Friends come and go like seasons, anyway. She didn't care.

Except that would be a lie.

She would always care about them. It was an unspoken promise, an unseen bond. It would be impossible to cut them off when they've been a part of her since the day she was born.

She exhaled noisily. She was going to go home, take a very long shower, exfoliate, go to sleep, wake up in the morning, attend school, and everything would be back to normal. Sasuke would be less cold, Naruto more attentive, and Sai back to his unbearable insulting self. Yeah, that sounded right.

The trip back was impossibly quiet. There was some catchy billboard hits single blaring from the radio, but the song felt so far away and out of place that she couldn't quite catch the lyrics.

She lowered her head, letting her pretty pink hair cover her face. She felt so tired. So nostalgic. And so sad. She squeezed her eyes shut. Oh, how she wished she had gotten the hotdog.

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A/N: I typed this up months ago, but didn't post it because I didn't think it was worthy. This is an experimental fic, actually. I'm trying to use different styles of writing, so I'm not sure if this sucks or not. 

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Honestly, the main reason I posted this is because I need a **beta reader**. Badly. I know nobody drops by my profile very often, so yeah. This was the only way I could think of. So, please contact me if you're interested. Or if you know where I can get one. Add me up on MSN or whatever. Contact details are on my profile.

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The other fic will be updated. Soon. Just as long as I get enough time to type.

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As usual, reviews are highly appreciated. Criticism is love, and so is any constructive comments. Tell me which parts you love, and which parts you hate.


	2. Run

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **  
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**Like Liquid Rouge**

_Two._

_Don't play the game_

_If you don't know the rules _

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It was a perfect Monday afternoon. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the sky was blue, they had just finished school, and yet there they were, two beyond gorgeous females, wasting said afternoon in a bookstore. That was just plain sad.

Since when were their lives so blah?

"_Be careful what you wish for,"_ Sakura read off the cover of a random book, bored off her ass. She and Ino had decided to sacrifice an afternoon to pick a book from the bookstore for their due-next-Monday book report, since they had both conveniently lost their school library cards. And who could blame them? Nobody actually keeps library cards anyway. "What a _corny_ title."

The bookshop they were in--- Barnes and Nobles? Barnes and Nodess? Whatever. -- was surprisingly crammed full of people. Grown-ups swarmed the place, some in cool office attires, some in casual 5-bucks-apiece tees. It was weird. Didn't they have work to do or something?

_Hey_. Sakura narrowed her eyes, catching sight of a familiar figure. _Wasn't that my driver?_

Her driver had taken leave off from work today, his excuse being that somebody in his family had just passed away and he needed a day to mourn.

Well, he didn't really look like he was mourning at the moment.

Sakura sneered. She hated being lied to.

* * *

Ino, who had been on the other side of the bookstore, made her way towards Sakura, pushed against the crowd of people. "Oops," she grinned, accidentally brushing the back of her hand against the hipbone of a particularly cute-looking boy, "My bad." 

The boy blushed. "It's okay," he muttered shyly, not used to a girl as flirty as Ino.

Ino's smile faded away. She wasn't into shy boys. Not since her first ex back in 10th grade. Honestly, she didn't know what she saw in that loser sap—he got all teary every time somebody mentioned funerals or something morbid along the lines of that.

At first she thought it was cute and kind of sentimental, but that wore off when he started getting all emotional over random deaths you read on the newspaper.

Being shy was cute. Being emotional over the news for a nobody who had just died was just plain weird.

She gave the boy a cool, half-hearted smile before turning away.

* * *

"Hey," Ino greeted her, smiling cautiously. Sakura looked pissed. Sakura was scary when she was pissed. Discreetly she moved three steps back, just in case her best friend started breathing fire. "Found anything yet?" 

"No," Sakura scowled, gesturing at the 'Be careful what you wish for' book. "They all suck."

Ino wrinkled her tiny nose at the book. "Then why did you pick it up in the first place?"

Sakura shrugged and pointed at the cover, using one of her freshly-manicured nails to tap the glossy picture. There was a girl wearing a shit-eating grin there, gesturing at them and holding a glass of yellow beer. "I have that exact same sweater," she said, adjusting the scarf around her neck. "Remind me to throw it out."

Ino grinned. "Either way, it's just for our book report, Sakura. Just pick whatever," she held up her copy of _Girl, Sixteen, model_, some unknown book by some unknown author. "I've already picked mine."

Sakura frowned. "I can't just pick _whatever,_ Ino," she pulled another book from the shelf. Its cover was in black and white, and there was a grunge-looking pair of intense eyes staring up at her. You could see a scene of a man holding a gun in army's clothing reflected through his pupils. The word 'Life' was stamped across the picture in bold, white letters. Maybe it was about some tragic soldier who died some tragic death on the battlefield for his country or something.

"It has to be perfect."

Perfect enough to write a book report about. Perfect enough to get an A. Perfect enough for the A to be added to her growing list of perfect grades. Perfect enough for the university admission officers to be perfectly impressed. Perfect enough for her to be instantly accepted into a perfect university.

Because university was important. Family honor and pride was important. She had to give something to her father to brag about, so one day her dad could point at her and go, "Hey. That's my daughter," just like in those fuzzy, cheesy overused family scenes in the movies.

Besides. Nobody in their circle had ever _not_ been accepted into a prestigious school. Most of them were legacies—the schools were usually more than eager to accept them.

How embarrassing would it be if Sakura wasn't accepted? She would be putting her father's name in shame. And her father's father. Her grandfather. She would be putting everybody to shame.

"Yeah, yeah," Ino muttered distractedly, flicking a smudge of dirt that had somehow gotten into her perfectly clean nails away. "All for uni, right? That's what you've always been so obsessed about. University."

"Yeah, well, obviously," Sakura turned the book around to read it's summary. "I mean, universities can decide our future, you know? I don't want my parents looking at me all sad and shit because I don't have what it takes to get into the best university around."

"Besides," she continued. "I think I deserve that much, you know? After all that shitty tuition sessions I've attended. If I don't get into a good one," her eyes glinted dangerously, killer intent ablaze. "God is going to _fucking pay._"

Woah. Somebody call a psychiatrist—we need Prozac here, stat!

Ino turned to look at her homicidal friend, discreetly taking yet _another_ small step back. "Life... isn't all about education and getting the best of the best, Sakura," Ino muttered lamely, a half-assed attempt to lift the unsettling mood.

"How would _you_ know?" Sakura accused, narrowing her eyes. "We're just teenagers. We're supposed to be dumb and stupid and oblivious to the—and I quote every adult for this—_pain of life_."

"Jesus, Sakura. You don't have to be so melodramatic," Ino defended hotly. "I was just trying to lift the mood and like, not be a total asshole by not replying."

Sakura pursed her lips, sucking her cheek in so she could stop herself from making another biting comment. "You're right. I'm sorry. My temper's just so crazy high these days."

Ino frowned at her. "Something up?"

Sakura paused. She could tell Ino about how upset she was about Naruto, Sasuke and Sai. She could rant to her and get all emotional and start crying in the middle of the bookshop so people could think she had no life. She could, she could. Once the first few words started spilling from her mouth, there would be no going back.

The words were just on the tip of her tongue, just waiting. Waiting.

But it wasn't like ranting to Ino would help the matter at hand. Complaining would get nothing done.

And besides. "Never let other people see you sweat," her father had told her once.

Yeah. Things were easier this way.

She swallowed hard, her saliva trailing down her throat roughly, like she had just swallowed a pebble.

"Everything's peachy, Ino. Just peachy," she held the copy of the black-and-white book up. "I'm getting this," Sakura announced, even though she hadn't even read the summary yet. All she wanted right now was to leave the bookstore, to leave Ino, and just curl up in her room with a hot cup of Starbucks.

She strutted to the counter to pay, her silver stilettos making deliciously professional slaps against the floor at her every step. She liked the sound. It was crisp, curt. Straight to the point. No shit taken.

Ino watched her back soulfully.

"Hey," Ino ventured, approaching the counter to pay for her own book as well. "How was the whole reunion thing with Sai and the other two that day, anyway? You guys never did return to the party."

Sakura stiffened at the memory. Shit. Of all subjects, she just had to bring that one up, didn't she? "It was good," she managed, jaws tense.

Ino blinked. "It sucked, huh?"

Sakura slumped. Her best friend could see right through her. "Yeah," she began slowly, still cautious. Her lower lip quivered at the memory. "I was acting like a total bitch the other day. I was just too pissed at what's-her-face who was all over Sasuke."

But that wasn't the whole reason. Sakura wasn't going to tell her they didn't feel like friends anymore. She couldn't. If she did, she would cry. She knew it from the way her eyes watered at the memory.

"We can go scratch her car up if you want," Ino offered generously. "Or get her phone number and post it on the internet for perverts to find."

Sakura smiled. It was Ino's way of comforting her. And she appreciated it.

"Thanks," she muttered coolly, running her hand through her beautiful pink hair, feigning Sasuke's look when he was usually so cool and calm and collected. "But no thanks. Been there. Done that. You should've seen her car this morning."

The two girls locked gazes. Ino's eyes sparkled mischievously while Sakura's glowed with untold secrets.

Smile. Smirk.

"Can't fuck with us," Ino grinned.

* * *

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the group of boys on the rooftop of the apartment. They had discovered this place back in 9th grade, and had hung out here ever since. At first it was just them, Sasuke, Sai and Naruto, but then boys from other schools and God-knows-where started joining them, and none of them had ever objected, so the place became something like a HQ for all the Upper East boys to smoke at. 

It was a good place to do it, what with the open air and all. It definitely beat smoking in the alleys. Things got stuffy real fast there.

"Where's Sakura?"

Sai shrugged and took another hit from the cigarette in between his fingers. "Hanging out with the banshee, doing something girly. Like brushing each other's hair or something."

Like Sakura and Ino would _ever_ do something as boring as brushing each other's hair on a free afternoon. Get your facts straight, Sai!

He sounded baked. Naruto squinted. Was that pot?

Sasuke was sitting on the floor a bit away from them, smoking like it was nobody's business. A can of beer and a single glass was an arm's reach away from him. He picked the can up and took a swig, ignoring the glass. Sasuke always drank alcohol on the rooftops, which was weird, because nobody ever saw Sasuke going to the rooftops with any form of alcohol in the first place. The can was always there before anybody arrived, and it was like an unwritten rule for anybody besides Sasuke to go touch it.

So far, nobody had the balls to bend the unwritten rule yet.

Naruto leered. "Spare me a sip, oh lovable great Sasuke?"

"Fuck off and die," Sasuke grunted, gripping the can almost protectively. "It's _mine_."

Naruto pouted. "Selfish jackass."

Sasuke glared.

Sai sighed, bored at the two. Things tended to be dull and boring without Sakura around. For the first time in his life, Sai wished she was here.

Wow. Miracles _do _happen.

"Hey," some random boy with an ugly haircut exclaimed, nudging the boy next to him while he pointed at something on the streets. "That girl is _hot._"

The rooftops they were on had a great view, since it wasn't built tall and broad like the other buildings on the street. The height was just right—you could actually see inside the stores on the street from their spot up there.

That was pretty cool, since you could leer at girls without them worrying that you were a total rapist or something.

The three of them, along with the rest of the guys on the roof, whipped their heads over to eyeball whichever hot chick he was pointing at. It was like a male's natural instinct to leer at a girl, so don't blame them. Boys just can't help it—hormones simply overrode brains.

No offence, but it's kind of the truth.

Sai blinked. It was Sakura, with a printed B&N bag in one hand and her handbag swinging around the other. She looked very chic, like one of those French girls who spent their days away being gorgeous and beautiful and _thin_, laughing as she enjoyed a cup of coffee in a café down the streets. What was she doing walking down the streets alone? Didn't she have a driver to bow down at her every whim?

"I think you need glasses," Sai remarked dryly at the boy with the ugly haircut.

Sasuke stared at her, eyes focused on how pointy her heels were and how the handbag swung from her other arm. It was like he was looking at her for the first time. Her hair was always so bouncy and long, just the way he liked it. Her smile was always all glossy because she had a layer of lip gloss on no matter where and when. Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but he wondered how her lip gloss would taste like.

"Yeah," he grunted, gaze intense as he took another swig, eyes never leaving her. "She's hot, alright."

The boy who had pointed her out turned around to blink at him in surprise. Boys there pointed girls out in the streets all the time and nobody had ever heard Sasuke agree to any one of them.

The boy with the ugly-ass haircut slumped noticeably. Before that he had thought he might have a chance with the pink-haired girl, but now that _the_ Uchiha Sasuke was staring at her like that, well, let's just say it seemed beyond impossible.

_Shit_. All the good ones were always taken.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow. It was the first time Sasuke had ever willingly complimented anybody.

* * *

Sakura hummed, making her way down the street back to her flat. She had already walked Ino back to her house to drop her off, and shrugged off Ino's continuous offer to make her dad drive her home. It was okay. Sakura's flat wasn't far. Just a ten minutes walk, actually. 

Sakura smiled. She was going to go home, make her house-keeper get her a cup of Starbucks, talk to her dad on the phone and discuss the three-hundred-and-sixty reasons why she wanted to fire her driver, the first being that he was a lying son of a bitch, and then maybe get the book report ready.

The streets of Upper East glowed a warm orange-yellow, courtesy of the light from the stores. Occasionally people would walk into the stores, and a gust of air-conditioned wind would hit her in the face. It was windy, too—her scarf whipped around wildly behind her.

It was kind of nice, walking on the streets like this. She made a mental note to do it more often.

* * *

Naruto stuffed his hands into his jacket and stood to get up. 

"Where's dickless going?" Sai tilted his head to one side. Truthfully, he didn't care where Naruto was going. He just felt like asking.

"To walk Sakura home. Duh," Naruto snorted. "What are you, stupid? She's just a girl. Stuff happens to girls when they're alone and on the streets."

Wow. Naruto had more chivalry than Sasuke had balls. And that's saying a lot.

Sasuke rose to stand, stretching his arms out. His body felt stiff from sitting so long on the ground. "I'll go."

Sai got up from his spot on the ground.

"You're going, too?" Naruto stared at him incredulously.

Sai shrugged.

The boy with the ugly-ass haircut blinked. Wow, the pink-haired girl was like a distant dream right now.

Naruto stared at them. What was with the sudden interest in Sakura? "Fine. Let's all go."

* * *

"Hello," a guy she didn't know smiled at her. His hair was all messy from the wind. He looked like a normal guy. 

Sakura blinked at him, shifting the weight in her legs. She was fine with talking to strangers when her boys were there and they were in a high-class ballroom party, but definitely not when she was in the streets and alone.

She didn't have to talk to him. He was wearing faded jeans and a plain tee, signs that he wasn't some millionaire's son. She didn't need to make ties with him.

She walked on, ignoring him.

"Hey," the boy called, speeding up to fall into step next to her. Sakura frowned, her palms starting to sweat. She had been courted on the streets before, but none of the boys had ever been as persistent as this one. You'd think this guy would get a clue and fuck off.

His innocence made her suspicious. Normal boys didn't have the balls to court a girl like this. She clenched her fist in her True Religions, wrapping her fingers around her cell. Her finger rested on where the "1" button was. She had set up speed dial for each of her boys before.

1 was Sasuke, because he was cool-headed and if she ever needed help, he was probably the one with the most logic and sense out of the three to make a good decision.

2 was for Naruto, because her mom and dad was always away and it would be senseless and stupid to put them on speed dial.

3 was for Sai. Because she felt like it.

4 was for her driver. But that was changing soon.

If things went her way, their driver would have to start searching for jobs in the newspapers like every other jobless loser on the streets faster than you can say "Bitch, please!"

Next to her, the boy trudged on. What did he want from her? She had never walked alone with a totally random nobody before. And what could she say?

"_Hey, I know you're all normal-looking and stuff, but are you going to pull me into an alley and rape me? Just curious."_

Haha, yeah, right. Like she could ever say that.

Shit. Why hadn't she just accepted Ino's offer and made Ino's dad drive her back? Why, oh why, oh why?

She turned into one of the stores. Stores had more people. She had been into this store before. There were photo booths everywhere, sprayed in neon pink and decorated with bright yellow and blue.

She hated this store. It was always so plastic and cheap-looking. The workers here acknowledged their customers with a loud obnoxious "Mushi mushi! Welcome to Vicky's!" which gave her just more reason to hate the store. Usually she thought their perkiness was desperate and just plain sad, but this time, it was exactly what she needed.

The boy followed her, smiling eerily, like somebody keeping the delicious answer to a question everybody was trying to solve. It made the hairs on her neck stand. Discreetly, she pushed the button on her cell and pushed the phone a little out of her pocket so the receiver could stick out. She heard the faint, low grumble of a reply over the noise of the crowd.

Yes! Sasuke had picked up!

And just in time, too. The girls in the store smiled at her. "Mushi, mushi, welcome to Vicky's!"

* * *

His cell buzzed in his pocket. The screen glowed Sakura. She was calling him? Naruto and Sai stared at the screen. 

He flipped it open and put it on loudspeaker, knowing Naruto would try to listen in. "Hello? Uchiha here," he grunted.

"Mushi, mushi, welcome to Vicky's!" came the faint chorus of a reply. He frowned. What? Was Sakura's cell malfunctioning or something, calling him out of the blue with her not picking up?

"Beep, beep," the phone chirped. Whoever on the other line was pressing buttons. "Beep, beep. Beep, beep," and the beeps reminded him of heartbeats.

There was something wrong.

"Beep, beep."

"Beeeeeeeeep," it flat-toned.

The boys exchanged a glance. There was only one moment of pause.

Simultaneously, they ran down the stairs, jumping the steps three, four, five at a time.

* * *

Sakura bit her lip. Did Sasuke understand the message? 

"Hey," the boy said again, slouching and pushing his hands into his pockets as she turned around. There was no running away, now. She had to talk to him.

"Why are you following me?" her voice sounded stronger than she felt.

He smiled at her, ignoring her question. "You're pretty," he whispered. He was close to her, very, very close. Close enough for his breath to fan on her cheeks. Close enough to touch her hair.

Now she knew something was definitely wrong. It was uncharacteristic for boys to just do stuff like that. Like touch a random girl's hair, or lean into a random girl's face. Her knees shook."I already have a boyfriend," She lied, tucking her hair behind her ear. Coolly, she pulled the book of photos to her lap. It was full of pictures of couples and girls who took photos of themselves and didn't feel like taking it home or people who just felt like sticking their photos there.

It was heavy. It would probably hurt quite a bit if she slammed it into a boy's crotch.

He grinned, sensing her fear. He nodded at the other group of boys hanging around outside. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you or anything. A friend of mine bet me 5 bucks if I could get you to talk to me. 5 more if I can get your number."

_Lies. __Do I look like a total dumbass to you?_

And besides, that was supposed to calm her, how? Now she knew he had subordinates. What if they were the kind that were into gang bang?

Shit, shit, shit, shit, _shit. _

"Oh," She muttered, smoothing out the front of her True Religions. "So... go get your 5 bucks already."

The boy grinned at her. "I was hoping I could get your number, too."

* * *

"Where the _fuck_ is Vicky's?" Naruto demanded. 

"I've been there before," Sai intoned, turning around a corner. Passer-bys stared at them. What were three gorgeous-looking young men doing running down the street? "Just follow me."

Sasuke sped in front of Sai wordlessly.

* * *

"Hm," Sakura tilted her head to the side. She looked up at him innocently, her huge eyes shining. "I don't usually give my number to total strangers," her tone was exaggeratingly sweet. 

"Oh," The boy blinked at her. "But I really, _really_ want your number."

Sakura shifted awkwardly, wondering what he was trying to imply, wondering what kind of game he was trying to play.

A chorus of "Mushi mushi, welcome to Vicky's!" sounded through the room. She snapped her eyes towards it to see Sasuke and Naruto and even Sai standing there.

Her boys!

She grinned. "Hey," she breathed. Her insides swelled with relief.

"Who's that?" Naruto grinned back, smile fake and teeth white, tilting his head at the boy.

"Nobody," The boy smiled. "I was just leaving."

He walked past the three of them and out of the store. She watched him vanish around a corner, bringing his clique along with him.

"Thanks guys," Sakura dropped the smile, eyeing the place his clique had been in. "Things were starting to get sticky."

* * *

"Let me get this straight," Naruto repeated, peeking over the large pillow on Sasuke's couch in that cute way of his. "He touched your hair, and then demanded a phone number." 

"Yeah," Sakura muttered distractedly, shaking her stringy wet hair out as she stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her. The boys stared at her. I mean, it was kind of hard not to. Even Sasuke who had been working on his paperwork looked up.

Sakura loved Sasuke's apartment. It smelt like cologne all the time, and his bed was super bouncy. It had been a long time since she had been here.

"Hey Sasuke, you don't mind if I borrow some of your clothes, do you?"

Sasuke blinked. Could he say no to a dripping wet girl wrapped in his towel? Sheesh. Why ask a question when everybody already knew the answer? It wasn't like he was going to let her walk around his house in only a towel or something.

What, was this guy gay or something? Why _wouldn't_ you want a totally cute girl prancing around your house in only a towel?

Still, it was common courtesy. Sakura was a polite girl. Polite girls ask before they take your stuff to wear.

"Go ahead."

Sakura grinned. "Do you still have those cute smiley-faced boxers?"

Sasuke scowled. "Not funny."

Sakura lifted her hands up defensively, sheepishly. "Heh, just joking."

Sasuke gave her one last glare before turning back to his folder.

Sakura skipped to Sasuke's wardrobe and tugged on the door, admiring the way the lights flickered on automatically. Sasuke had the biggest and prettiest wardrobe in the world, full of clothes in every design and every color you can think of. Too bad really, the Uchiha more or less wore the same kind of shirt every day.

Some would argue and point out why Sasuke had so many clothes if he didn't wear it. The answer was simple, really—Sakura did Sasuke's shopping for him. She never really did give up hope that Sasuke would one day wear something that was not in a morbid shade of blue or black.

Everything was color-coded, just like she remembered it. Sakura felt her eyes go starry. If only these were girls' clothes—it would be like heaven on Earth.

_Riiight_. Like her closet wasn't already the size of everybody's living room.

Sakura felt giddy. Maybe she should ask Sasuke if she could live in his closet from now on.

* * *

It was midnight. Naruto, Sakura and Sai were curled around each other on the couch, snoring softly. 

The lights of the room flickered, the only source of light being his table lamp. His shadow ran a hand through his hair roughly, grabbing the glass on the table. He tipped it back, feeling the water splash around in his mouth before he swallowed.

The soft glow of his cellphone pissed him off more than anything.

There was only one moment of silence.

He swept his arm on the table, sending his documents, his paperwork, his Blueberry, his cell phone, his pen, his _everything_ clashing on the floor in a tumble of noises.

CRACK

His cell phone flew the furthest, slamming into a wall before hitting the floor. Its cover broke, the batteries flying out on the floor a little away from its cover.

Naruto woke up with a start. "Wha—?"

"Don't," Sasuke sneered, eyes flashing red in the night light. "Don't talk to me right now."

Sakura blinked, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the night light. She could make out Sasuke silhouette against the wall, and Naruto's standing almost protectively in front of her. The sofa shifted as Sai stood to get up.

"Sasu—" Naruto started again.

"I _said_," Sasuke breathed, angry. He had thrown his shirt away sometime through the night, the skin on his chest now almost a perfect white in the bleariness of the night.

"_Don't talk to me." _

It sent shivers up and down her spine. She had never seen Sasuke this angry before, never seen Sasuke this hateful before.

"What the _fuck_ is your problem, Sasuke?" Naruto hissed.

BAM

Sasuke's punch came unexpected. Sakura's eyes snapped open, completely wide awake now.

Naruto sneered, feeling a bruise form somewhere on his jaw. Instinctively his fist flew to punch back.

"No, _no_," Sakura swore, getting off the couch. "_Stop."_ She ran.

Sai's hand pulled her back. She slammed into his chest. "Don't interfere—a girl like you will get hurt," Sai whispered, his breath fanning on the top of her head. "Let the dicks be."

Sakura wrenched her wrist out of his grip and threw him a betrayed glare. Naruto and Sasuke were violently fighting now—all fists and hair and kicks. She couldn't just leave them. She couldn't. She ran again, pulling hard on Naruto's shirt, pulling him away from Sasuke, away from the fight.

"No, no," She hissed, tugging. "Stop."

Sasuke growled and pounced, sending the three of them crashing into a lamp. The vase next to it crashed to the floor.

There was a moment of pause as all of them heaved for breath. The fall had knocked the air out of their lungs.

Knock, knock.

Sakura glanced at the door. The noise had probably attracted concern from neighbors.

Soundlessly Sai marched to it, throwing it open to greet a man in his late forties. He frowned. "Is everything okay in there, Sasuke?" He tried to peek into the room, but Sai was too tall. He blocked them all out of view.

Sai smiled at him. It was pitch black. He didn't blame the man for mistaking him for Sasuke. "Everything's okay. One of my friends got a little... restless."

The man in his forties looked at him suspiciously. "Well, alright. Anything happens, I'm right next door."

Sai smiled and closed the door in his face.

Sakura let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Ow," she whimpered, trying to feel her legs through the confusing tangle of limbs. Her side hurt—she had been the one that slammed into the lamp. Naruto and Sasuke were really, really heavy.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, silently waiting for an explanation. _Anything. _

But Sasuke was looking away. Away at the chunks of cell phone on the floor.

Sai tugged Sakura up effortlessly, plucking her from Sasuke's and Naruto's legs. "Ow," she said again, wincing as she leaned into his chest for support. She pressed her face into his shirt. Her side really, really hurt. She slid to the floor, hugging herself. Her eyes watered. It hurt. It hurt so much. She gasped as another sharp rod of pain pressed against her side.

She looked up.

Naruto was walking, away from her, away from Sai. He kneeled next to Sasuke on the other side of the room.

Sai kneeled soundlessly next to her. "Where does it hurt?"

But she was looking away. Away at Naruto and Sasuke, at the world they were in. It had always been that way, hadn't it?

Naruto and Sasuke.

Sai.

Sakura.

It was never the four of them—just a pair and two separate beings.

A single tear slid down her cheek. She brushed it away angrily. She had been crying a lot these days.

But they kept coming. Pearls of tears slid down her cheek, soaking into the carpet she was on.

"Everywhere," Sakura whispered.

"It hurts everywhere."

* * *

A/N: 21 reviews for a first chapter? I love you. Really, I do. 

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I have a beta! Much thanks to elmo-extreme. kunoichi13 too, who pointed out the typo in the title.

And, of course, you guys. Thanks so much for reviewing! I really, really appreciate it.

To those who pointed out the similarities to Gossip Girl, yeah, that's where I got the inspiration.

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Next chapter:

-Sasuke's explanation

-Sai's humor.

-Everything else.

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The review button smiles upon you all.


	3. Blood

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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**Like Liquid Rouge**

_We do what we are trained to do._

_We do what we are bred to do._

_- _

_We do what we are** born **to do. _

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Awkward silence.

Sakura looked out the window at the starry night sky. It had to be at least 2 a.m. right now. She closed her eyes briefly, savoring the night air.

"Itachi was promoted to director of the company," Sasuke said suddenly, blowing another wisp of smoke up into the air. He stood alone in the balcony of his apartment, back to them as he watched the bleary neon lights of the city.

"He's going to be the head chair of the Uchiha business one day. My father promoted him without even telling mother. Without even telling _me_. I received the message just now."

Silence.

"Sasuke…" Naruto trailed off, unsure of how to reply.

Sasuke, second son of Uchiha Fugaku. A second son inheriting his father's business was unheard of, never mind when the first son was _so much better._

"_And who is this charming young man, Fugaku?" A plump businessman clapped his hand on Sasuke's shoulder firmly, his fleshy hand cold despite it's size. "Your niece?"_

_His father laughed. A cold, hollow laugh. "No, no, that is my second son."_

"_Second son?" The man turned around to look at Sasuke properly, not quite expecting this predicament. "I never knew you had a second son."_

The message was clear. Uchiha Sasuke, the lesser Uchiha, would never inherit the business. Not when Uchiha Itachi existed.

The tiniest of frowns wrinkled Sai's otherwise smooth forehead. This was exactly why he hated staying over at somebody else's house—you had to bend over backwards for the owners.

What a selfish little Uchiha waking them all in the middle of the night because of his brother's promotion.

Sai snorted loudly. Typical of Uchihas, wasn't it? They always put themselves in front of others.

"What's your problem, Sai?" Sasuke looked over sharply, annoyed.

"Sasuke, don't ––" She didn't want to see another fight start.

"Don't interfere, Sakura." Sasuke sneered automatically, cutting through her words as if they were worthless.

Sai rolled his eyes. He wasn't in the mood for another one of Uchiha's famous dramafest. Picking up his coat, he made sure to slam the door on his way out.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the closed door.

"_Fine_," Sakura's voice cut through the air suddenly, startling him from somewhere to the right. His eyes snapped to her slumped figure. He forgot she was still there.

Sakura shook with repressed anger. He always treated her like shit, didn't he? He always treated her like she was worthless, a passing scenery that would always be there, oxygen that would always exist. Who did he think he was? She gave him everything and he gave her nothing. Nothing.

"It's always been this way, hasn't it?" she spat bitterly, fingernails digging into the flesh of her palm.

Sasuke frowned. Been _what_ way?

"You," She struggled to grasp the correct words to describe his infuriating personality, but could find none. She, the girl who won the school's Creative Writing Award since 3rd grade, could not find a single word to define Uchiha Sasuke.

Something inside her cracked. "_Fine_," she repeated, picking up her handbag.

"_Fine_," she hissed again, slamming the door to his apartment in the same fashion as Sai.

The silence settled around the apartment like a blanket.

Naruto blinked at the door confusedly. "What just… happened?"

Sasuke growled, not in the mood for Sakura's Drama Queen attitude tonight. "Who cares?" he sneered, turning his back on Naruto to brood again.

Déjà vu.

* * *

"Fucking asshole," Sakura hissed, stomping down the stairs to the building, stepping through a group of drunken teens on the steps. 

One of the boys whistled. The other looked at her sympathetically. One girl pulled her and wrapped her filthy arms around Sakura in what was supposed to be a comforting way. "Boys, they're all the same, aren't they?" She slurred, her eyes red from crying for God knows what reasons. "Always fuck and leave, don't they?"

Sakura looked at the girl incredously.

Like any man on Earth would dare pull a stunt like that on Haruno Sakura, of all people.

Was this girl lowering her down to her own level? The elitist in her blue blood boiled. "Get away from me," she sneered, pushing her away.

"Whoa there," one boy grinned at her. "No reason to get all rough, miss."

Sakura rolled her eyes and stomped away to the side of the road to hail a cab.

And waited.

And waited.

And _waited…_

She snapped her head to the drunk losers behind her. "Why isn't there a cab?" she demanded.

They ignored her.

She let out a frustrated groan and stood up to stomp her way back home.

In her peripheral vision, a bum on the side of the streets waved at her joyfully.

She ignored him and walked on.

Wait.

She backtracked her steps almost comically.

"_**Sai?**_"

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Sakura sighed dramatically. "You've been sitting there for half an hour straight and you have yet to find a cab." 

"More or less, yeah."

She sighed dramatically again.

Sai smiled at her, one side of his lip twitching out of annoyance. "Stop doing that, you sound like you have a bad case of asthma, ugly."

Her bubble of joy at finding a fellow human being to suffer with burst. Stupid Sai and his stupid comments. "You are going to walk me home," she gritted out. "Whether you like it or not."

"No."

Sakura's brows drew together, not being used to rejection. She took a few quick breaths to reconstruct her usually unbreakable defense. "Are you deaf? That was not a question."

"Yeah?" Sai cocked an eyebrow. "What makes you think I'm going to oblige?"

"Look," Sakura said, picking a stick of lipstick out of her handbag. It was MAC and in an ugly shocking red, a cheap Christmas gift given by one of her least favorite relatives. Drastic time calls for drastic measures—it was either the lipstick or the eyeliner.

She drew a rough diagram on the pavement.

"This is Sasuke's apartment," she circled the triangle. "This is mine," she marked the triangle with a girly heart shape, "And this is yours," she drew a large ugly X on Sai's triangle. "The distance between my house and Sasuke's apartment is considerably closer compared to yours," she pointed out. "So if you walk me home, then I can use my car and drive you to _your _home."

"My apartment is about 5 minutes away from your apartment, just in the opposite direction," Sai pointed out. "A 40 minutes walk won't kill me."

Sakura bit her lip. It would take a rough 30 minutes walk to reach her house. She did _not_ want to risk walking alone again, not after what happened this afternoon. "I have a bottle of 1775 Sherry," she blurted out before she could think twice.

Sai blinked, not really expecting a retort from her. He would have walked her home in the end eventually, but now that she had offered…

"Lead the way, ugly."

* * *

"My feet hurt like crap," she whined, the straps of her high heels digging into the front of her toes. 

He rolled his eyes. "So take them off. It's not like high heels can help nullify the fact that you are ugly."

"Do you usually spew so much shit out of your mouth, or is it only around me?"

"I don't know what you're taking about."

Sakura glared at Sai murderously. "Fine. We're here." She unlocked the door and stepped inside, kicking her heels off carelessly. "Welcome to my humble abode," she drawled exaggeratedly. "I know it's hard for someone like you, but try not to drag any of your slime onto my spotless floor."

* * *

Next door, a blonde haired girl blinked at the tiny figure of Sakura and Sai. "Mitsu, wake up," she shook her friend. "The pink-haired bitch who scratched your car is finally home." 

Mitsu whined. "I don't want to do this confrontation thing," she said. "It's not like we have proof that she's the one who did it, I mean, I only _think_ it's her. Maybe it isn't her, Aya."

Aya narrowed her eyes. "You know God-damned-well it's her."

"But!" Mitsu's lower lip trembled. "Have you forgotten who her family is? And besides, every girl has a bitchy side."

"Yeah, and Haruno's just happens to be on 24/7. We aren't the ones wrong here. _She_ started it. And look, is that Sasuke she's with?"

At the mention of Sasuke, Mitsu snapped her neck towards the window so fast her neck hurt. She squinted. "I don't think so--Sasuke's hair isn't that flat." This boy was kind of good-looking too, she remembered seeing him in the yearbook. "I think his name is Sai. "

"Oh my God. Is she sleeping with him? Like, she's wearing boxer-briefs."

* * *

Sai kicked his own shoes off, looking around to size up her house. It was big, about the size of a tiny shopping mall. How exaggerated a status symbol. "Your dad's out on a business trip again, right?" 

"Yeah," She muttered distractedly, picking out the correct car key from a drawer. She walked into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of wine from the towering rack of bottles. Taking a corkscrew out, she was about to open it when Sai pulled the bottle away.

"I was joking, ugly." Sai muttered. "Keep your wine."

Sakura blinked at him. Something inside her churned in warmth. Sai was actually treating her nice!

It felt…kind of good.

She smiled at him with new-found respect.

He shifted uncomfortably. "Let's just…go."

* * *

Her fingers flew across the keyboard, punching in key after key. Aya grinned. This was infinitely better than a confrontation. 

It was only fair. She was protecting her best friend, after all. Mitsu was too nice for her own good—she never stood up for herself.

A click of a button and e-mails flew.

Payback.

* * *

"Hey, Sai," Sakura tucked a lock of her hair behind her ears shyly. 

Sakura? Shy? Hell _is _freezing over!

"Thanks for waking me back. I really appreciate it."

Sai blinked at her. "Whatever, ugly, just don't get used to it."

But he was smiling. Not the fake smile, but a real one.

She smiled at him one last time before driving off.

* * *

"Sakura, are you sleeping with Sai?" 

Sakura dropped her pencil.

"What the hell? What drugs have you been _on_, Ino?" Sakura snapped, making no move to pick up the pencil on the floor. The guy in front of her bent down and picked it up for her.

"Psh," Ino waved her hand, like she was trying to bat an imaginary fly away. "Its from this rumor. E-mail."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Anonymous account?"

Ino grinned. "123 hotmail . com, babe."

"And _you_ believed it?"

Ino shrugged.

"You are so supportive. Honestly. Best friend on Earth," Sakura said.

"I know! The world needs more people like me," Ino grinned, slinging an arm around Sakura's shoulder in an almost brotherly manner.

"So we can have Word War Three? I totally agree man. Totally."

Karin, who had been sitting up front, turned around and snapped, gesturing at Ino's hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Can you two be any more…_lesbian_? And _loud?_ Seriously."

Sakura and Ino both rolled their eyes simultaneously, and, just to piss her off, pecked each other's cheeks.

"Oh, Ino," Sakura batted her eyelashes girlishly, giggling, holding Ino's slender hand to her face.

"Sakura, ai, my love," Ino intoned, her voice purposefully deep and a poor imitation of that of a boy's.

"Thank you, God," Naruto said, wiping his hand against his imaginary tears, gesturing at the ceiling. "May we have more lesbian scenes in the future."

The class cackled, Karin fumed, and Sasuke slapped his hand up Naruto's head.

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun," Karin smiled at him sweetly, her voice now ten pitches more melodious than it was before. She had even removed her dorky glasses.

Sasuke pointedly ignored her.

There was a pause.

"What are you _doing_, Karin?" Sakura said, raising an elegant brow. "Is that, like, your supposed bedroom eyes or something?"

Karin flushed. "I-It's none of your business, bitch!"

Something was escalating in the classroom, and everybody knew it. Sakura was like the crazy ex-girlfriend you wish you never had, and so was Karin. The class leaned forward on their seats.

The silent promise of a catfight hung in the air.

"I don't know what MTV brainwashed you into thinking, but I hate it when people in my class use the B-word," Sakura leaned on her elbows and examined a lock of her pink hair coolly. "It makes them sound like they come from an _uneducated background_."

Hypocrite. She used the F-word all the time.

Karin flushed, and then glared. "Nobody asked for your opinion."

Sakura winked at her. "You look extra sexy when you're angry, Karin, seriously. Especially when your hair isn't even proportional. Very… _bedroom_."

Karin snorted and turned back to the whiteboard, her ears pink.

The whole class was quiet, watching the exchange hungrily like the busybodies they all secretly were.

"What are _you_ looking at, monitor?" Her eyes floated somewhere to the middle of the class, zeroing in on the crew-cut sand-haired boy. "Shouldn't you go check on the teacher? It isn't like Iruka-sensei to run late on us."

"Sakura," Sasuke called warningly, frowning. It wasn't the smartest idea to make everybody in your class your own enemy. Heck, that was a Naruto thing to do, not Sakura. She knew better. She _should've_ knew better.

Sakura turned to him and glared even harder. Oh, so he was finally taking to her and it was only to tell her to shut up? What happened to the fight yesterday? What happened to their argument? Wasn't he the least bit aware that he clearly was in no position to talk to her like that?

He met her glare head-on. Uchiha Sasuke was never one to be intimidated.

"Ah, sorry, class," Iruka strolled in, shattering the electricity between both Sasuke and Sakura. "The headmistress called an emergency meeting between teachers. I should've sent somebody down to inform you."

Sakura looked away, back to the textbook she was reading. 'Page two hundred and fifty,' her mind informed dully.

"Turn to page 104, please, class," Iruka announced, writing down the page on the whiteboard.

Her eyes remained glued on 250.

* * *

"Father," she greeted, landing on her bed with a soft 'frush'. The cordless phone she pressed to her ear was a pristine white. She sighed. School today had been…difficult. It had been a long time since school was "difficult". 

She threw her backpack off her bed, and it landed ungracefully on the floor with a loud "thud". "Did you receive my e-mail, father?"

A pause. "Yes," the receiver answered. "Most unfortunate; I had thought your driver was up-to-par. Very disappointing indeed."

"Aa, I agree," Sakura pressed her tongue against her teeth, just to feel the pressure. Taking to her father was always difficult. They hardly saw each other. They were always formal.

It was uncomfortable.

"You read the part about my encounter with the stranger, the boy?" She paused, but not long enough for her father to answer. "I need a suitable driver. One who can actually cater to my needs. This one has been below-standard for a long time, but I did not speak of his lousy services, as I did not want to trouble father."

"Trouble father"? What a blatant suck-up.

"I understand." A pause. Some scratching noises in the background. "I have an old friend of mine. A university lecturer. His son is a tutor, just finished his studies, actually, but I am sure he can make an exception."

Like anybody dared say no to a hot-shot like him.

"A graduate?" Sakura frowned. "Freahies lack the maturity and responsibility adults have, Father. Qualities that only come with age."

Another suck-up.

"I have no alternatives at the moment, sweetheart."

Sakura faked a sigh. "What's his name, father?"

A pause. "Hatake Kakashi."

* * *

A/N: I'm being cheap with Kakashi's age, I know. I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. What's Team 7 without the lovable late mop of scarecrow? Everybody needs a scarecrow! 

Again, thanks for your reviews and support. I appreciate it.

To be honest, I was reluctant to post this. My fandom, its dying.

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Ah, well. Let's see where this takes us.


	4. Wound

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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**Like Liquid Rouge**

_Four._

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_Perfection cannot be achieved._

_Only endlessly pursued. _

_Knowing this, would you still seek perfection?_

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"Haruno Sakura," the speakers of the school's morning assembly crackled. "You are violating the school dress code again! Kindly see to it that the red ribbon inclusive with the girls' uniform is by your neck by recess."

Sakura rolled her eyes, but dug into her skirt pocket to pull out the thin, dark red ribbon anyway. She looked at it in disgust, and was about to shove it back into her cotton pockets when a long, pale hand stopped her.

"You should abide by the rules, you know," Sasuke reprimanded quietly, tugging the ribbons from her fingers and lifting her collar up so he could tie them for her.

Sakura considered being cruel, considered pulling away from Sasuke, because she was supposed to be mad at him.

Looking up into that perfectly doll-like face, she realized that she couldn't.

Her gaze drifted to the sky over his shoulder, hidden behind the looming walls and painted buildings of the school.

The misty, thin clouds overhead were an interesting shade of gray, blotting out the blue with its mass and size. '_Cirrus clouds'_, her mind informed unhelpfully.

Funny though, that everything today felt as saturated a gray as the skies overhead. Even Sasuke seemed to lack his shining, cool, sharp attitude he was so infamous for, instead being replaced with this melancholic shadow of a man.

"Its an insult," she sighed, tilting her neck up so he could tie better. "To have us seniors wear such childish ribbons to our already childish uniforms."

Which was true. Her coat hung low, covering most of her skirt, letting only a little glimpse of the dark blue to peek out. It was cute, but also highly immature and unprofessional.

Well, aren't we in a hurry to grow up?

Sasuke sighed, like the conversation tired him. "Just follow the rules, Sakura," he scolded, in that oddly quiet but not unpleasant voice of his one last time before turning away.

She gave his back a wary glance before floating away to find Ino, not bothering to retort with a snappish comment. It seemed, _felt_ wrong to disturb the rare serenity of the quiet morning.

Which, by the way, didn't last very long.

"Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, successfully shattering the wispy, glimmering silence that was so comfortable but a moment ago. She frowned at him, annoyed. It was a _nice_ silence, damn it!

Sasuke must've thought the same thing, because he turned around to glare at the blonde who dared defy Sasuke's unwritten book of holy commands and demands. "Idiot," he hissed, with more venom than it usually had.

"Asshole," Naruto retorted back, more out of habit than actual insult.

"Homos," Sai scoffed, rubbing his impending headache. Did they just _have to_ make this much Goddamned noise this early in the morning?

Sakura groaned and slapped Naruto on the chest, because he was closer to her than the other two. "Not this early in the morning guys, _please_."

Things didn't get any less irritating after that.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun," Karin cooed, smiling at him with both her eyes and those lips. "What'cha reading?" 

Sakura rolled her eyes from her spot behind their table in the Chemistry Lab. The teacher just _had_ to pair Karin and Sasuke together, didn't he?

Sasuke gave her the look he usually reserved for people who were being monumentally stupid—they were in the chem lab, studying chemistry. The contents of the book was distinguishable to be Chemistry from first glance.

She was trying to make small talk, and Sasuke didn't like small talk.

"Karin," he commanded flatly. "If you have nothing to say, then don't."

Her own lab partner (a weird silvery-haired boy with an equally weird name) snickered, leaning forward to get a better look at Karin and Sasuke. "Have you ever seen a girl that desperate?" he gestured vaguely at Karin and her current attempt of attracting Sasuke's attention.

Sakura didn't usually talk to random guys she didn't know well, but Suigetsu was insulting Karin, and, amidst her inner seething, she grunted a reply. "I agree," she smirked angrily, tapping her pen impatiently hard against the table.

Sakura's gaze slipped back to the table in front of her, watching as Sasuke turned his head minutely towards Karin to say something. She wished she knew how to lip read. Whatever he had said worked, because Karin put on her glasses and turned away.

Out of the corner of Sakura's eye, she spied Naruto and Sai attempting a temporary peace treaty in order to get their experiment done. Judging by the way Sai had just attempted to stuff his chemistry textbook down Naruto's throat, it wasn't going very well.

Sakura sighed. Their chemistry teacher really sucked at pairing pupils up.

* * *

"Karin," Sasuke called warningly, his gaze and tone now sharp after her refusal to shut up and back off. "I suggest you stop before my respect for you slips down another notch." 

Karin froze. Such cruel words! She bit her lip and put her thick glasses back on, muttering a "Hmph!" as she flipped her head away, as if to make up her lost pride.

Sasuke glared. Girls were so annoying.

* * *

Sakura sighed, flipping the exercise book that the teacher had just returned to the class to the first page, to see if she made any mistakes. 

Her pink brows drew together. She frowned, then flipped to the second page. The third page. The fourth page. The fifth page. The sixth page…

The word "bitch" was scrawled over every page angrily, in pencil.

She glared. Stupid petty high school grudges. Too bad she didn't know who did it—returning the favor would have been highly pleasurable

Ah, well. Look on the bright side—at least they used pencil instead of pen. Unsatisfied, Sakura started erasing the ugly scrawl off the first index page.

* * *

'Somebody really, really hates me,' was the first thought that came to mind when she entered class the next morning. 

Sakura stared at her plastic seat, the words, "World's #1 Bitch" written across the front of it in marker pen.

Calmly, she switched her seat with the one next to her and plopped down on the new, free-from-graffiti seat. Sakura rested her chin on the back of her hand as she waited for the rest of her classmates to arrive.

Their first period was Additional Mathematics, something Naruto and Ino didn't take.

Uchiha Sasuke strolled into class casually, and then froze when he was three rows away from his seat.

The words "WORLD'S #1 BITCH" was written across his seat in bold, marker pen.

Sasuke glared. Sakura was the first suspect, since she sat right next to him in Add Maths class. He narrowed his eyes at her casual stance, trying to find something in her body language to call her out on the crime.

Sai, who had been behind Sasuke, tilted his head to the side as he scrutinized the words.

He smiled in amusement when he saw the seat. "So very true!" he grinned now, flashing his pearly whites.

Sasuke's glare hardened even more, if possible. Then, after deciding that he _did_ hate the world after all, he plopped down on the seat, snarling at anybody who dared look his way.

Sakura, amidst her inner sadistic amusement, decided to speak up to save her own life. "I swear," she said, crossing her fingers under the table. "That I have nothing to do with this."

Sasuke turned to her then, eyes locking with hers, trying to find the bluff.

A pause.

He sighed finally, turning away to face the blackboard. Whatever. He didn't care about all this petty high school crap. Everybody in the room could jump off a cliff and burn themselves to death for all he cared.

* * *

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Naruto laughed, spraying them all with spit and chunks of food. It was recess, and Sakura had just explained the cause of Sasuke's sulking to Naruto. 

The three twitched, and attempted to disinfect themselves of Naruto's saliva immediately. Sakura wiped a tissue across her cheek with more force than needed.

Ew, what if she got a pimple tomorrow? Naruto's spit was poisonous, damn it!

"Can we lend the school camera or something? We _have_ to take a picture of this," Naruto exclaimed, and she caught a glimpse of mushy orange and green. Sakura leaned away, scrunching her nose.

"Naruto! Damn it, don't talk with your mouth full!"

"Right, right," Naruto waved his arm impatiently, chewing furiously before swallowing.

"Retard," Sasuke hissed. "If you get a camera, I swear you'll never celebrate Father's day. Ever. For as long as you live."

Sakura grinned, happy. Sasuke was so cute when he threatened to castrate other males!

Hm. Her sadistic side must've been more dominant than anybody thought.

Sai poked into the conversation, ever the helpful friend. "There's nothing _to_ castrate," he informed joyfully.

Naruto turned red. Ganging up on him? Not fair! "Sakura-chaaaaaaaaan," he whined. "They're bullying me!"

Sakura sucked in her cheek. "I have no comment."

"Traitor!" Naruto gasped childishly. And also adorably. He really was too cute for his own good, with that baby face.

Sakura laughed. This sense of normality was rare, better to treasure the moment while it lasts.

* * *

"_I think," one girl whispered to another. "That she's sleeping with all three of them."_

"_No, she only has eyes for Sasuke-kun. Can't you see the way she drools over him?"_

"_Its kind of shameless, don't you think? The way she wants all three of them."_

"_I wonder how many dicks she's sucked, how many asses she's wiped, to get that far and that high on all three of their priorities list."_

"_So, what? She's the school slut?"_

Sakura walked out the school gate, oblivious to the whispers wrapped around her. Maybe she was ignoring them. Maybe she was just too sassy to let them get to her. Maybe she didn't care about all this petty, mediocre high school rumors.

Whatever the reason, the rumors never stopped, and if anything, the whispers got louder.

"So cheap," a guy behind her scoffed, purposely loud. Because that was what teenagers did—pick a fight and then pretend they don't know what you were talking about when you confronted them.

Was it a coward's way of picking a fight? She wasn't sure. Maybe it was just one of those things a teenager did, what with their rebellious hormones and irrational thoughts, spurred on by the adrenaline of a moment.

The small crowd of his peers laughed, and he seemed to get more motivated. He cupped his mouth and yelled, "How much? How much?" He was facing the other direction, but Sakura knew it was directed at her.

Sakura turned around. "Excuse me?"

The boy hesitated for a moment, mentally and unconsciously sizing her up, from the way he drew up to his full height. But then suddenly he was drawing back again.

"Nothing," he mumbled, and then slouched away.

Sakura turned around, and predictably saw her three best friends there. Naruto crossed his arms, watching the boy walk away disdainfully. Sasuke glared at the group, and slowly, reluctantly, they disbanded, muttering small goodbyes to each other.

"What happened?" Sai cocked a brow.

Sakura contemplated her answer. She could bite her lip and say nothing, avoiding further trouble and suppressing her irritation. Or, she could say something, and watch with satisfaction as the three pummeled the stupid boy to the ground.

Selfish, angry, and a little hurt, she opened her mouth. "He called me cheap," she said, tone carefully blank.

The effect was immediate. Naruto straightened up to his full height, eyes glassy and body rigid, tense. Sasuke glanced at the retreating figure of the boy sharply. Sai stared at her, as if trying to goad her emotion.

Naruto dropped his backpack on the floor and made his way towards the boy, striding in big, powerful steps. His breath hissed out, deep and controlled. Inhale. Pause. Exhale.

Sakura changed her mind. She didn't want to see them gang bang that boy, stupid as he was. The first one to throw the fist was the one at fault.

She caught up next to him. Sakura had to run to catch up. They were halfway across the clearing now--it wouldn't take long to reach the oblivious, retreating figure of that boy.

"Don't, Naruto," she warned, catching the sleeve of his uniform.

"Sakura," he hissed, still glaring at the retreating figure. "I can't just let him go like that."

"Naruto," it was Sasuke's voice this time. He and Sai stood just behind them.

They shared a look. _The_ look. It was that rare moment again, the one where Sakura was left out. Judging from Sai's eyes, he was in on it too.

Sakura sniffed the air, like a wolf. "I smell... a conspiracy," she snapped sarcastically. "You're going to pretend to back off now, when in reality you three will go beat the shit out of him the moment I'm back home."

Sai snorted. "Don't flatter yourself, stupid girl," he scoffed.

Sakura narrowed her eyes, and stepped in front, hands on her waist. The three boys stood next to each other, straight like a soldier, as if Sakura was their commander. Her brain racked for something she could pin them with, something she could use.

She could think of nothing.

"The first one to throw the punch will be the one to meet my fist," she finally threatened. "And, considering the fact that I train under _the_ Tsunade for boxing, it _will_ hurt."

Sasuke looked at her, unimpressed. "Hn," he agreed, as if deciding that her punch would be worth it.

Sakura backtracked, and mentally slapped herself. Repeatedly. Over the face. Like a threat would work on boys!

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto, Sai," she whimpered, and they froze. Sakura hardly ever let anybody see this soft, sensitive side of hers anymore, not since she turned 12, after Sasuke's leave. "Please, please, _please_ don't do it. It'll hurt me. You know it'll hurt me. Do you want to hurt me?"

They didn't answer, bodies made of statue and stone.

A car honked. Her Rolls Royce was somewhere in the background, with Kakashi in the driver's seat. He was leaning over the steering wheel, looking positively bored.

"I have a new driver," she laughed nervously, still using that small, weak, voice they all remembered. She was babbling, another habit she had shed off since she was 12. Since Sasuke left. "He's Hatake Kakashi. He's really nice, we spoke over the phone. Its his first day working as my driver today, you know?"

Naruto sighed, reaching one muscular arm out to catch her in a headlock. "Fine, Sakura-chan. You win."

She smiled. "Yay," she breathed, reaching over to peck Naruto on his jawline.

"I have to go, see you all later, okay?" she smiled, looking younger and smaller than she had ever been. She walked away, her hair swishing to and fro in the wind. "Be good!" she called out, just before she slammed the door to her car.

Naruto grimaced as he watched the back of her retreating car, growing smaller by the second.

He hated lying to her.

Sasuke glanced around, eyes dark, like that of an eagle. A hawk. "Which way did that little fag go again?"

* * *

Sakura bit the top end of her pencil, chewing the plastic a little. She had just finished the book report for that "Life" book, and it was surprisingly good. The honor of a soldier dying for his country, the pain and love and bitterness that left your heart with a wound; it was _different_, to say the least. 

Different, in a good way, of course. There was no way she could _not_ get an A, with a report like this!

Satisfied with her proof-read, she flipped her dark folder open, carefully slipping her precious book report into the clear pockets. She took her organizer out and crossed out "book report", smiling as she noted that she was finished with all her tasks.

What a control freak.

She sighed, collapsing on her bed. She felt tired. School was getting harder and harder again. More so than last week, when she was on the phone with father.

That boy with his "You're cheap," sneer. Her chair, with that #1 Bitch thing. Her notebook.

She closed her eyes. It was definitely getting harder.

Why did things always have to be so complicated? Why did whoever it was who was behind all the hurtful rumors single her out? Whose fault was it? Was this karma?

She frowned. Whatever. She would be out of high school and into college-slash-university in a few months, anyway.

She curled into a ball on one side of the bed. The sheets were so soft.

It was the first time she slept without dinner.

* * *

A/N: I hope you had as much fun reading as I had with writing. 

Thanks for all your reviews, you have no idea how much those mean to me.

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Would you believe me if I said I dislike Gossip Girl? To be honest, I only like the sarcastic comment of a sentence injected after a few paragraphs, haha.

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Also, I was in the bookstore the other day, and saw the book. "Be careful what you wish for". I didn't even know it existed. Now I feel kinda bad for bashing it. Meh.

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Review? Don't hesitate to tell me if its bad.


	5. Power

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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**Like Liquid Rogue**

_Five._

_-_

_I'll burn these cities down, just to show you the **light.**_

_-_

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_-  
Sakura is such a bitch_, the scratches across her table read. _One man doesn't satisfy her, so she needs three. _

Sakura glared, and angrily scratched the words away with her pen knife. Sasuke glanced up at her automatically, eyes going from her face to the words on the table. He frowned.

She scratched desperately at the table, ignoring the silence that had suddenly fell across the classroom. Every head was turned, staring at her. Even the teacher's.

The words were almost gone now, victim to the growing scratches.

The penknife wobbled, and a single blade broke off from the others, cutting her across the palm. She had applied too much pressure. She hissed angrily, and threw the knife at the floor.

_Clang!_

She looked up.

The whole class was looking at her, some frowning, some scoffing, some curious. Weren't anybody worried about her well-being? Wasn't there a single person out there who worried for her well-being?

Her fingers twitched before curling into a fist. Blood trickled down her digits and dripped on the floor. She got up, and stumped her way towards the teacher. "I need to go to the nurse," she announced stiffly, shoving her hands at him for inspection. "I'm bleeding."

"Uh," the teacher started, but Sakura was already walking out of the classroom. She slid the door shut with a loud slam.

The teacher coughed awkwardly.

* * *

Sakura didn't go the nurse. Instead, she turned left at the corner and went to the girls' bathroom instead. 

She narrowed her eyes as she swung the door open. Two girls were sitting on the side of the sinks, chatting leisurely, no doubt cutting class. Their ribbon was yellow. Juniors.

"Get out," she ordered, voice icy and gaze murderous. "Get out, _now._"

The young, inexperienced girls squeaked, but attempted to regain whatever precious silver of spunk left in them. "W-why should we?" The words that left the blonde girl's lips were undeniable rebellious, but her tone was undeniably submissive.

Sakura grinned and rolled her sleeve up to show them her bleeding palm. The blood trickled down her wrist now, dripping off at her elbow. "Do you want to stay and find out?" her voice was pure venom, shaking with anger and coming out more hostile than she intended.

The girls squeaked at the sight of blood and hurried out.

Absent-mindedly, she kicked open every door of the cubicles to make sure she was alone. Blood gushed, roaring in her ears. When every door was open, she turned towards the sinks and glared at her own reflection.

The girl who glared back wasn't Haruno Sakura. Haruno Sakura was demure, polite, and a girl who came from a prestigious rich family. The pink-haired girl with narrowed eyes, messy hair and a bleeding palm wasn't Haruno Sakura. She wasn't.

She pulled the blouse of her uniform off, throwing the flimsy sailor suit on the sink. Twisting the faucet all the way, she washed the drying blood off her arms and splashed cool water on her neck. Her ears. Calming the violent flush of red on her skin.

Haruno Sakura, Haruno Sakura…

What a Plain Jane name. She laughed sourly. Spring cherry blossoms. A cliché, plain, not-special, not-unique, overused name. Jane Doe and Joe Average. Even her _name_ sucked. She laughed sarcastically.

Haruno Sakura. Sakura. Flimsy, weak cherry blossom flowers, powdered white with the faintest tinge of chalky pink and the occasional drop of deep red. Flowers that wilted and fell off the tree every freaking day.

What, born to blossom, bloom to perish?

She snorted and ripped a handful of tissue from the roll, taking much more than needed.

"Sakura, stop."

She whirled around, eyes immediately landing on the dark-haired boy leaning on the wall beside the hand blow-dry machine. _Sasuke,_ her mind acknowledged. For a bizarre moment, her other senses shut down.

Sasuke _who?_

And then everything returned in a rush. She straightened. Sniffed. "Sasuke," her lips moved.

He walked towards her and snatched her wrist, holding her in his death grip, flaunting his superior strength. He held her hand under the running faucet and washed the wound properly.

"I don't know what's wrong with you," he didn't look up. "But its unsightly. Stop. I'd rather you cry than resort to violent tendencies."

"Cry?" she echoed blankly. "I don't cry. At east, not in front of _them._ Crying means losing, and I refuse to lose in this game called life."

Sasuke flashed his eyes at her. Those perfectly cool, perfectly calm, perfectly gorgeous eyes. "_What _game? Nobody's playing a game."

"You saw that sentence on the table, didn't you?" Sakura glanced down at her hand. "Provoking me. They're playing a game. They think it's a game. And I refuse to lose."

Sasuke didn't reply, instead he lifted her hand up to inspect the cut. He blew on the gash, and then wiped the water droplets away with tissue.

"Why are you so nice to me all of a sudden? One moment you're cool and don't give a jack-shit," she muttered, her mind flashing back to the incident, the day he went berserk over Itachi. "And the next you're so nice and, well, _nice._"

He brushed her hand against his lips, unsmiling. "Would you prefer for me to be cruel to you?"

"No. Of course not."

"Then why bother bringing this up?"

Her eyes dimmed. She pulled her hand away. "Why, indeed."

Sasuke threw a sling-bag at her. To be specific, her sling-bag. "You're going home."

"What?"

"I called your house-keeper and asked them to inform Hatake to come pick you up."

Sakura frowned.

"You had a nervous breakdown. That's valid reason to go home," Sasuke adjusted the strap of his own sling-bag. "And I'm going with you."

Sakura snorted. "You're just trying to cut Visual Art class."

Sasuke's lips curled up. "We have three periods before the last school bell rings, and I rather go to your house and finish my homework than stay here and learn how to draw apples."

Sakura snorted again. "So, what? You told the teacher you're going home with me because you're my moral support pillar? Don't make me laugh. You're the iciest guy on Earth."

"I told the teacher you're suicidal, and that I'll stop you if you try anything stupid," Sasuke corrected. "Like what you did just now. Glaring at yourself in the mirror isn't very normal behavior."

Stupid Sasuke, using her as a get-out-of-school card.

"You're such a good friend," Sakura batted her eyelashes at him, sarcasm dripping off her every pore. "Not taking advantage of my situation like that. Really. I'm touched."

Sasuke picked up her blouse and threw it at her. "Just get dressed," he rolled his eyes.

* * *

The trip to Sakura's house was short, and Kakashi didn't care enough to ask why he was sending two students home before school finished. 

Sakura plopped down on her beanbag and tipped her school bag over, spilling everything on the floor. She picked up her history textbook and flipped to the section on World War 2, her homework assignment.

The teacher asked her to read up to page 200. She had already finished the book before the school year even started, but it was good to refresh her memory.

She glanced over to her bed, where Sasuke lay on his stomach, doing his Physics homework.

She glanced back at her textbook, and started mentally reading.

She paused. Her eyes stared at the two words—two words that were the solution to everything.

_Soft power._

Of course! The ability to get what you want through _attraction_ rather than _coercion. _

_Coercion_—that was what she had been doing, wasn't it? Posting numbers on internet, using political influence to bring down the family shares of girls who crossed path with her in school.

"Soft power," she breathed. It was as if she was seeing the light for the first time! She was flying, flying—

"What?" Sasuke's sharp voice sent her tumbling back onto Earth.

"Soft power, Sasuke!" Sakura grinned happily, scrambling to her feet and throwing herself onto the bed, tackling Sasuke down. "_That's_ what I need to use, soft power!"

Sasuke blinked at her. Soft power? As in, _political_ soft power? Sakura nuzzled his neck, purring into the apex of his throat. It wasn't the first time she got horny with him around. But then again, she probably did this with Naruto and Sai too.

If anything, the three of them were somewhat friends with benefits, just not to the extent of sex. Sakura was too sassy and savvy to demand commitment, so nobody demanded any form of explanation after making out.

Come to think of it, their relationship _was_ extremely complicated. Mentally, Sasuke shook his head.

"Sakura, what are you _talking_ about?" Sasuke demanded, frowning.

Sakura continued to purr and nuzzle his neck, straddling his hips. She was making weird whiny sounds that girls on porn videos made, giggling happily.

"Get off," Sasuke commanded, a little freaked out by her weird behavior. Maybe somebody spiked her water bottle that morning? Added some sort of drugs that made her get non-stop mood swings?

"Nuh-uh," Sakura grinned happily, brushing her lips against his neck again. She straightened up slightly, breathing onto his chin. "Nothing you can say or do will pull me down today," she exclaimed happily, hyper. " 'Cause I just found the _per-fect _solution."

Sasuke continued to scowl. Solution to what?

"Hey, Sasuke," Sakura grinned again, casually resting her elbows beside his head. She drew herself up to his eye-level, her pink hair raining down and brushing against Sasuke's cheek. "Will you get pissed if I kiss you?"

Sasuke held her gaze but didn't comment.

Hyper-Sakura smiled down at him uncaringly. She would've kissed him either way. She pressed her lips against his, soft and cute. Her eyes were closed and her tongue licked at his shyly.

Sasuke was beginning to realize something about Sakura: Everything about her was soft. Soft hair, soft lips, soft kiss, soft body, soft skin…

Kissing her was like sucking a mochi.

He grunted and turned, pressing her down against the bed, reversing their position.

* * *

All of a sudden, she cried. Sasuke tried to pull away, but she held him back. So they kissed, and she cried. 

She pulled away and pressed her forehead against his. Sasuke frowned, but didn't comment. Sakura was awfully emotional these days.

"Hey, I'm amazing right?" She breathed, tears flowing. Her nose wasn't red. She wasn't sniffing. Besides the tears from her eyes, she didn't look like she was crying at all.

"Even if I chase you, you won't come for me," she pulled away and wiped at her eyes, crying a little harder. "I think this is jealousy. It's painful."

Sasuke tilted his head. Jealous? Of who? Karin? He _had _been spending a little more time with her in Chem class lately…

He scoffed and started to stand. What a stupid reason to be jealous. Sakura should've been more mature than that.

"I know what you're thinking," Sakura muttered, facing away. "I've known you too long not to be able to predict your thoughts."

"I'm not jealous of a girl," she closed her eyes, pressing her two hands together and touching her fingernails to her lips. "I'm jealous of Naruto."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He flopped back onto the bed.

"Why is it that," Sakura started, trying to find the correct words. "You two have such strong bonds together? I've known you two just as long." She sniffed. "Am I being selfish if I say I want what you and Naruto have?"

"I want that kind of friendship. I want that kind of bond. I want that kind of closure," she pulled her legs up and hugged them. "I'm _lonely_, and I think I'm breaking my own heart hoping."

"I don't understand," Sasuke admitted, casually leaning back and lacing his fingers behind his head. He was missing the point entirely.

Sakura furrowed her brow. Sasuke, a boy with intense ties with everybody around him. Sasuke, who hated his brother. Sasuke, who rivaled Naruto. Sasuke, who disliked Sai. Everything about him and his relationships were so _open_, so _real_.

Unlike her. Being a girl sucked. Words with double meanings, back-stabs, competition of wealth and power. Having to suck-up to people and attempt to blend in.

Maybe she was wanting too much? She had always wanted too much in her life. She wanted the best of the best. She wanted a great university, a rich husband, a respectable job. Money.

Money was power, and power is sexy.

In a world where power is fleeting but means everything, what was she really trying to find?

Maybe she should be lucky to be included in their bond at all.

She collapsed on the bed, hitting Sasuke on the stomach. He grunted, but didn't comment.

She closed her eyes. Opened them again. Climbed up Sasuke's body. Stopped when she was on eye-level with him.

She kissed the side of his eye. The corner of his lips. His cheekbones. The curve of his aristocratic nose. His neck. His ear.

"Sasuke," she whispered, voice husky with something he couldn't quite point out. Her breath blew across his ear in the most teasing manner. "In a world where money is power and power is sexy, you're the sexiest man I know."

What was she trying to do? Her world was spinning out of control and she was wildly grabbing and planting whatever trees she could get her hands on, in an attempt to root herself to this. This world. Their world.

Or was it something else? Sasuke was the only guy she'd ever had a crush on. But hadn't she grown out of that? Was this all it was? A _pathetic little crush_ she hadn't grown out of?

What was it, exactly? Friendship? Jealousy? The helplessness of losing control? Growing lust, skin against skin? The need to fill that odd sense of emptiness brought upon by years of being the good, obedient little girl? The need to strip herself of that damned plastic mask, if only for a few minutes?

Her head spun. She was searching for answers to a question she didn't know. Her mind was running uselessly in circles, and she fisted her hand in Sasuke's shirt in an attempt to stop her world from crashing altogether.

Her kiss crashed onto him with the joint effort of a whirlpool and a Tsunami: wild, uncontrollable and virtually unstoppable.

Sasuke let himself drown.

* * *

Sakura laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling. 

Somewhere in the house, the main door clicked close.

She had almost slept with Uchiha Sasuke.

She sighed, using her arm to press down on her eyes. There was something seriously wrong with her these days.

Uchiha Sasuke. The Uchiha Sasuke.

The Sasuke she had a crush on when she was, what, five? The Sasuke she grew up with. The Sasuke who was four months younger than her. _The_ Sasuke.

This wasn't just _any_ Sasuke. This was her Sasuke-kun! As in, the sexy tomato-lovin' Sasuke-kun!

It was practically like sleeping with your own younger brother.

She shot up in her bed, sick. She stumbled across the room into her toilet and practically collapsed against the toilet bowl, lurching.

In a way, it was lucky their relationship was so savvy, so sassy. She comforted herself in the fact that they would both pretend to forget anything happened the next time they saw each other.

She coughed dryly and heaved again, her stomach trying to vomit whatever little she had for lunch that day. Her hands held so tightly against the smooth side of the toilet bowl that it was growing white. Her left hand rose shakily and fisted into her fringe, keeping her hair away from her face. Sweat trickled down her brow.

The drying coughs stopped gradually, the rough feel of something stuck in her throat dimming. She stood and collapsed against the wooden table. The table she used for make-up.

Make-up—Something that seemed so wonderfully important just a few days back. The table was stocked full of it. Concealers, foundations, lipstick, tubes of lip-gloss…

Sakura growled and threw them all into the netted wastebasket with a single sweeping arm. A bottle of perfume smashed onto the ground. The crap that didn't fall into the basket rolled across the tiled floor.

She wasn't going to be that girl anymore. She wasn't the girl who caked on mascara and lipstick and all kinds of cosmetic bullshit to fit in. No more intimidation, no more double-edged words, no more picking quarrels and fights.

Using her fingers, she combed all her hair into a high ponytail, using a lock of her own hair to tie it. The girl in the mirror who stared back at her was scowling, eyes hard and jaws tensed.

She relaxed her facial muscles and attempted a smile.

_Soft power, _she reminded herself. _Soft power. _

* * *

"I'd like to order Belgian chocolates," Sakura chirped into her phone happily. "Those seashell-shaped ones. I want three hundred boxes." 

Sai raised an eyebrow at the security camera surveillance video on his computer screen. What was Sakura doing in front of his house? More importantly, what was she doing in front of his house ordering three hundred boxes of 30$-a-box chocolates?

Wasn't she supposed to be having some nervous breakdown? She didn't look like somebody who was having a nervous breakdown. But then again, she was smiling.

Sai scrutinized the smiling Sakura on the screen. Hm. _Definitely_ having a nervous breakdown.

"Okay, I'll hold!" she smiled, and then covered the receiver of her phone. "Sai," she hissed into the intercom, her smile dropped instantly. "I know you can see me, and I know you can hear me. Usually, when somebody rings your doorbell, _you're supposed to freaking greet them and let them in_, you social-retard."

He sighed, and flicked the switch to the automatic gates. The gate whirled open, and she skipped inside happily.

Sai frowned as the video cameras on his screen flickered to the garden, to the kitchen, the staircase, then outside his room. Sakura bounced through his house, and was currently standing next to his door.

He decided to be nice to his door and open it, lest it be smashed to pieces by Sakura's fist.

The moment the door creaked open, Sakura's fist connected with his face.

"Ow! What the hell, you psycho?" Sai blurted, hand automatically flying up to rub at his chin.

"That's for not coming to visit me, after hearing that I was sent home," Sakura announced cheerfully. "Don't worry, Naruto's getting the same reward when he arrives."

"Oh, since this is your room, can you call him and Sasuke, and ask them to come over?"

Sai was looking at her the same way you would look at somebody with a pot-belly and forest-thick armpit hair if he got down on one knee and proposed to you.

She squealed. "Thanks, love you!" And promptly jumped onto his even-bouncier-than-Sasuke's-bed bed.

"Crazy woman," Sai muttered, but picked up his house phone to call anyway. He mumbled into the phone for a while, and then announced that they were coming soon.

"Hey, Sai," Sakura smiled, her hair fanned all over his oversized fluffed snow-white pillow. "Notice something new about my face today? I'm not wearing make-up."

Sai frowned, crossed over to where she sprawled, and squinted at her skin. He couldn't see any difference, but told her "_No wonder_ you look uglier than usual!" anyway.

"Mm-hmm," Sakura hummed melodiously. "Y'know, nothing you say will piss me off today. I am a whole new person."

"…Is make-up really that important to you women?"

"No, not because of the make-up, you dumbass. So insulting."

The door swung open then, revealing a reluctant Sasuke and a bewildered Naruto. "Sakura? What are you doing here?" Naruto raised a brow.

"Naruto," Sakura grinned, teeth pearly white and shiny. She beckoned him forward with a single, curling finger that was both seductive and impossibly sexy.

Sai smiled at Naruto and gladly got off his bed to see Sakura upper-cut him.

Her fist connected with his jaw, and Sai's smile grew even wider.

"Ow, Sakura-chan, what was that for?" Naruto complained, holding his hand to his jaw.

"You didn't visit me after hearing of my early departure from school today," she told him seriously. "I'm hurt, Naruto," she added, playing the sucker-card on him. "Don't you care for me at all?"

"Of course I care—"

"ANYWAY!" Sakura interrupted happily. "I'm going to plan a party. And invite the whole form. Or, at least, three hundred people. I've already ordered the chocolates."

"What? Why?"

Sakura grinned and leaned forward, bracing her elbow on her snow-white thigh and her chin in her palms. "It's my soft power. You know soft power, right? That political approach to settling issues and all that?"

"I've been getting provoked non-stop in school, and I _hate_ it," she paused, contemplating. "Actually, come to think of it, its all you three's fault! Grow a pimple or something so you don't get so many female admirers, why don't you?"

Naruto frowned uneasily at Sakura. "What's wrong with her?" he whispered to Sasuke.

"I think she's finally snapped," Sai announced joyfully.

Sakura was ranting now, crossing and uncrossing her (oh-so-sexy, pale white) legs. Well, at least there was entertainment for them.

"Sooo, this soft power political approach is going to help me kill the hate. Or, at least, lessen it. Like how you usually treat a kid who had a party nicer in an attempt to get invited to his next party? Yeah," she nodded at her own theory, flicking her fingers out to inspect her nail polish. "Oh, by the way, any of you wanna be my boyfriend?"

The three figures froze.

"What?" Naruto choked out.

"Want to be my boyfriend?" Sakura repeated.

"Boyfriend," Naruto echoed.

"Yes, boyfriend," Sakura confirmed, smiling like she had just been given her Christmas present early.

"Sakura, I think you should lie down for a while," Naruto fretted, patting her head stiffly.

She frowned, negative Chi and dark aura emitting from her body in waves. Sai's room was suddenly very cold, and very dark. "None of you want to be my boyfriend?"

See, none of them have _actually_ been involved in any official relationships whatsoever in all seventeen-and-a-half years' worth of their lives. Their relationships with girls and/or boys were always brief and unofficial; a fling to be thrown away and forgotten.

Sasuke crossed his arms. "What brought this commitment thing up?"

"The girls in school?" Sakura started reproachfully. "I figured that if I were tied down to one of you, they wouldn't be as violent."

"Hypothetically speaking," Sai said, over-emphasizing on the 'hypothetically', meaning that he was seriously considering it. "If I were to be your boyfriend, what would I get?"

Sakura frowned, dropping her fingers down to her lap.

"Um. Protection from love letters and female affection?" she offered. "Oh, and training from Kakashi-sensei. Did you know that he's an established martial arts master? He claims that he's the creator of this move--Chidori or something. You martial arts freaks should be interested, shouldn't you?"

Their eyes widened. Kakashi? Meaning, Copy Kakashi? Meaning, that prodigy-Kakashi was the same Kakashi who drove Sakura to school?

Sasuke's fist clenched. An outsider, somebody who trained in boxing, who had no touch on Japanese martial arts couldn't possibly understand how much glory mastering something like Chidori could bring.

She raised two hands, continuing her rant obliviously. "I swear I won't text you incessantly or anything, and I won't get any more mad than usual if you have an affair with another girl." Which meant that any girl she saw with them would die a slow, painful death. "It'll be like normal, but just with a label. Like--"

"I'll do it," the three of them cut through, chiming simultaneously.

* * *

A/N: Uh. I think I might be losing my touch. Kinda insecure about this, and I'm too tired to go proof-read. I think I might've made them a little OOC in some parts.

Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! They really motivate me to continue the story when I think of stopping.

-

Oh, and on the whole rich kids theme thing? I was actually planning to write two parallels to this story: one where they were impossibly rich, and one where they were impossibly poverty-poor. So poor they can hardly afford the clothes on their back.

Something along the lines of, "its year 2020, and pollution has painted the sky a permanent black and poisoned the rivers." Think war, hunger, and torture!

But I'm kind of reluctant starting on that story. Feh, what do you think?


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